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Israeli cabinet approves new settlement, first in 2 decades

Israeli cabinet approves new settlement, first in 2 decades

Carrie Doyle | April 2, 2017, 0:07

Israeli cabinet approves new settlement, first in 2 decades

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks as he visits a settlement construction site in Har Homa, east Jerusalem, Monday March 16, 2015.

"I promised from the very beginning that we were going to build a new settlement, and today we are fulfilling that promise", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday before a meeting with his Slovakian counterpart.

The new settlement is to be built in the area of Emek Shilo, the statement added.

The new town will be the first to be established by the State of Israel in Judea or Samaria in more than two decades.

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution in December condemning Israeli settlements constructed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal.

The new settlement will be used to house families that were evacuated from the illegal outpost of Amona in February. Since then, Israel and the US have been in talks over what kind of construction the White House would tolerate.

Thursday's announcement comes despite no agreement between the Trump and Netanyahu governments on how to address settlements. But the official, who agreed to discuss the matter on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about it, signaled that the White House would take a tougher line down the road.

The official said the President's previous concerns about settlement activity being unhelpful to the peace process "remain the same".

The UNSC Resolution 2334, which reaffirmed long-standing positions of the worldwide community, was adopted with 14 votes after the United States abstained in the vote.

Greenblatt on Wednesday wrapped up his attendance at the Arab League summit in Jordan, where he met with several Arab foreign ministers. "We hope that the parties will take reasonable actions moving forward that create a climate that is conducive to peace".

For almost a half-century, the Israeli military has occupied the West Bank, land Palestinians want for an independent state. Israel has continued to build additional housing units inside those settlements over the years.

"He reaffirmed President Trump's personal interest in achieving a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians and his belief that such a peace agreement is not only possible, but would reverberate positively throughout the region and the world".

Palestinian officials swiftly condemned the move.

The worldwide community mostly views settlements in that territory illegal and an obstacle to peace.

It also said the construction of Israeli settlements had "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under global law".